Chicago style.

Ed Paschke Sr. Carves Out His Own Niche In The Art World

April 09, 1995|By Lisa Skolnik.

There is more than one Ed Paschke making fascinating images these days.

Check out the "eggheads" for sale at Ancient Echoes. The 3-inch-tall wooden heads are carved to resemble an array of weird but winsome guys. There are glaring men, leering devils and scowling bunnies, all signed with the name of the famed Chicago painter Ed Paschke.

But this Ed is the painter's father, who lives in Kentwood, Mich., and started his art career relatively late in life.

"I'm just a wood carver, not an artist, though I do paint my things and like to call them sculpture," he insists.

And no one would disagree because these little heads are significant enough to be displayed on their own.

The eggheads originally started out as Christmas ornaments, when Paschke saw people carving Santas shaped like eggs.

"I thought it would be interesting to do something a little weirder," he explains, and promptly made a line of eccentric Santas. Men came next, and bunnies were a natural for Easter. "But I've yet to tackle a woman," he says, "because there are a lot more weird-looking old guys."

Paschke's eggheads cost $20 each at Ancient Echoes, 1003 W. Armitage Ave., 312- 880-1003, and come with hooks on the top for hanging or on corks to use in bottles.